


The Ring

by adrianna_m_scovill



Series: Create Your Own Context [9]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Secret Relationship, Wedding Rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28417137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adrianna_m_scovill/pseuds/adrianna_m_scovill
Summary: I'm always pretty adamant about not rewriting past canon, but this was written a couple of years ago and I'm not changing the details to make it seem current. Adding it to the "create your own context" series so it can just stand as itself, but it was originally going to be part of a follow-up to Vegas Heat. I'm clearing out some of the drafts that are now too old to be finished, repurposing what I can for newer stuff, discarding what's unusable.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson
Series: Create Your Own Context [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/977487
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	The Ring

“I have to get going,” Barba said, glancing at his watch. “I have an early meeting and I have to go home and change.” He was wearing the khakis and sweatshirt he’d shown up in the night before. 

“Why are you whispering?” Benson asked. 

He seemed surprised by the question. “Um, I don’t…Isn’t Noah…”

She smiled and walked over to him. “You don’t have to sneak out, Rafael,” she said, patting his cheek. 

“No?” he asked uncertainly. “I just wasn’t sure…if you wanted…”

She leaned forward and kissed him, and she felt the tension leave his body. When she pulled back to look at him his lips curved into a small smile. “He’s not up yet, but we’ll talk to him soon. In the meantime, there’s something else, though.” She reached down and took hold of his left hand, raising it up so they could both see his wedding band. “Are you going to wear this at work?”

He frowned, chewing the inside of his lip for a moment. “I don’t…want to take it off,” he finally answered, and she felt a rush of pleasure—and love. “But if you want me to…”

“I just think it might be best to take a few days, at least, and sort of…figure a few things out before we tell people.”

“Okay,” he said. 

“Is that alright?” she asked, and he could sense her concern.

“Liv, I’d happily shout from a rooftop that you’re my wife, but as long as you and I are good, nothing else matters. We are good, right?”

She smiled. “We’re very good,” she assured him, once more pressing her lips to his. “I love you.”

“Can I stop by the precinct for lunch?” he asked. 

She felt guilty that he was asking permission to see her in the middle of the day. She didn’t want him to think she was ashamed of their marriage, or unhappy about it. “I’d like that,” she said. 

He noticed her hesitance and tipped his head. “What?” he asked.

She chewed her lip for a moment. “What about your mother?”

“What about her?” he asked. “She loves you.”

“But will she still after she finds out we got married without telling anyone? And won’t it be worse the longer we wait?”

“Don’t worry about my mother, Liv. She’d never blame _you_. I’m the one she’ll—”

“I don’t want that,” she interrupted and he laughed, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. “When should we tell her?”

“We’ll figure all this out,” he promised. “But I really have to get going.”

“Right, I know,” she said, patting his chest and smiling. “See you at lunch.”

“Love you,” he answered, kissing her again and letting his lips linger against hers longer than he intended. He finally drew back with a sigh of disappointment that brought another smile to her lips. “See you at lunch,” he agreed, turning to leave before he could change his mind.

* * *

Benson was standing with her hands in her pockets, watching as their suspect was escorted out on his way to arraignment. Her fingers searched automatically for the wedding ring; she’d been absently toying with it all morning, taking comfort from its presence in her pocket.

“Liv?” Fin asked, noticing her frown and the fact that she hadn’t heard a word he’d said. 

She slid her hand around in her pocket one more time, hoping she was wrong. “No,” she said, her stomach clenching.

“No?” Fin repeated. “No, what?”

“It’s gone, I—Shit,” she said, frantically feeling in both pockets as she looked at the floor around her feet. She turned in a circle, scanning the tiles.

“What’s gone?”

“My—A ring, I had in my pocket. It must’ve fallen out somewhere.” She was already walking toward her office, her eyes sliding across the floor as she tried not to panic. It had been in her pocket not that long ago, an hour at most. Where had she gone in that time? The bathroom. The vending machines. Interrogation. Her office. 

The options were limited, and she took a deep breath, willing herself to remain calm. She wasn’t going to wonder if it could’ve fallen into the toilet, she wasn’t going to consider the possibility that someone had already found and pocketed it. No, she was going to keep a level head and retrace her steps until she found it.

“Lieu? Something wrong?” Carisi asked.

“She lost a ring,” Fin said, offering the detective a shrug.

“Ring?” Carisi got to his feet with a frown. “Is it valuable?”

Rollins hit him in the arm, shooting him a dirty look. “We’ll help you look, Liv,” she said. “Where’d you last see it?”

“It’s been in my pocket,” Benson said. She named off the places she’d been.

“I’ll check interrogation,” Fin said, heading off in that direction.

“I guess I’ll check by the vending machines,” Carisi said.

“Oh, you don’t want to check the women’s bathroom?” Rollins asked, rolling her eyes. “I’ve got it, Liv.”

“What’s it look like?” Carisi asked.

“How ‘bout if you find a ring, you bring it back,” Rollins answered, shooing him in the direction of the machines.

Benson knew it was ridiculous to have her sergeant and two best detectives scouring the precinct for her missing ring, but she was grateful for their help. A few days ago, she wouldn’t have believed that a piece of jewelry could feel so important—not even her necklace. But the ring was a symbol of her marriage to Barba, and if she’d lost it—

She shook her head. Her heart was slamming in her chest, her stomach squirming uneasily. She should’ve left it in her purse, or her desk, where it would be safe. If she hadn’t been playing around with it all morning, it wouldn’t be missing, and she wouldn’t feel so terrible. 

She’d made it into her office, and she searched the thin carpeting inside the door before rounding the desk. She wheeled the chair out of the way, bending down to look under the desk. 

Fin knocked on her open door and she looked up. “Sorry, Liv, no rings in interrogation,” he said. 

She nodded. “Thanks,” she answered, sounding almost normal. Her stomach sank when she saw Rollins approaching, because the female detective did not look happy.

“Sorry, Liv,” she said, stopping in the doorway. “We checked the floor in all the stalls, and on the sinks, there’s no ring in there. Did you go anywhere else that you might’ve forgotten?”

Benson shook her head. She was afraid she was going to be sick. Bile was stinging the back of her throat. She knew she was being ridiculous. She knew she was overreacting. She couldn’t help it, though. She’d been married for all of two days and she’d already lost her ring? What if Barba thought she didn’t care enough—She’d already given him reason to doubt by asking him to hide his own ring.

_Calm down_ , she thought. _It probably fell out while you were sitting in your chair, just stop freaking out and check under the desk._

“Liv?” Rollins asked uncertainly, glancing at Fin. “You okay?”

“Fine,” Benson answered, getting down onto her hands and knees and using her phone’s flashlight to look around the wheels of her chair and under the desk. 

“I’ll go see if Carisi had any luck,” Rollins said.

“It’s not here,” Benson muttered, and she was horrified to feel tears burning her eyes. She pushed her hair out of her face, sticking her head further beneath the desk, praying the light would find a glint of metal hiding somewhere. 

“Hey, Counsellor,” Rollins said as she left, and Benson’s stomach clenched.

“Detective,” Barba answered, and Benson closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to cry. “Uh…Liv?”

She drew back and straightened up on her knees, looking over the desk at him as she once more pushed her hair from her face. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight of her, but it took him only a second to see that she was upset. He started forward automatically, crossing quickly to the desk and reaching out a hand.

“What happened?” he asked. “Are you alright?” 

She let him help her to her feet, but she was having trouble meeting his eyes. “I’m fine,” she said. “It’s not…” She trailed off, biting her lip. She really didn’t understand why she was so emotional. Barba had a hand on her back, the gentle pressure both comforting and reassuring. The touch wasn’t particularly intimate, but the look on his face was. From the corner of her eye, she saw Fin leaving the office, but in that moment she didn’t care about who was watching. No one’s opinion mattered except Barba’s.

“Talk to me,” he said, his voice soft and laced with concern, his forehead creased and his head tipped as he studied her face.

Before she could answer, Carisi appeared in the doorway, grinning broadly and waving his hand in the air. Pinched between his thumb and finger was her ring, and she felt an overwhelming rush of relief. 

“Thank God,” she said on a sigh, her shoulders slumping.

She looked at Barba and saw understanding dawning on his face. “You lost your ring,” he said quietly. Then, frowning, “You’re this upset about—Liv, it’s just—” He stopped, pulling back the hand he’d extended toward her as he glanced at Carisi and Rollins inside the door. 

For several seconds no one moved or spoke, and Benson felt the awkward tension settle over everyone. Carisi’s smile was gone, replaced by a look of mingled confusion and concern. Rollins had put her hand on his arm and appeared ready to pull him out of the room.

And Barba wanted only to comfort and reassure Benson; she could see it in his face, as clearly as she could see his uncertainty. She’d caused his hesitancy. She’d given him doubts, made him second-guess whether or not he was allowed to touch her in front of people.

That was worse than losing his ring. “Rafa,” she said, looking at him, overwhelmed by love and guilt. “I’m so sorry.”

Frowning, he offered a small shake of his head. “It’s just a ring,” he answered. “And he found it—”

“Not for that, for—” She stepped forward, grabbing him into a hug. She pressed her face close to his neck, breathing in his comforting and familiar scent as his arms went around her. “I love you,” she murmured into his collar, and she felt his arms tighten. 

“I know you do,” he said quietly. “It’s okay, Liv.”

She drew back. “Carisi,” she said, holding out a hand, and the detective glanced at Rollins before starting forward. As he approached, Barba extended his own hand and Carisi hesitated. There was a faint stain of color in his cheeks as he glanced between Benson and Barba, unsure.

Benson offered Barba a smile and lowered her hand. After another few moments of hesitation, Carisi set the ring in Barba’s waiting palm.

“Do you mind?” Barba asked her.

“I think the cat’s out of the bag,” she said. Her relief and guilt were still coursing through her, but the love shining in his eyes soothed her and filled her with warmth. “I’m so sorry I made such a mess of this.”

Barba held the ring and she extended her hand, letting him slip it onto her finger. “We’re flying blind, here,” he said softly. “We’ll figure it out.”

There were several moments of silence while she leaned in to press a kiss to his lips, and then Carisi spoke: “Did you two get hitched?”

Barba grinned against Benson’s lips.


End file.
